One year later: Maurice Sendak (June 10, 1928 — May 8, 2012)

Maurice Sendak, Chertoff Mural (1961)

On the first anniversary of Maurice Sendak’s passing, I’ve gathered here some posts for those who want to consider what he has meant and continues to mean – as an artist, a writer, and (for those who knew him) a friend. It’s strange to think that it’s been a full year since he passed away. It was odd, in my classes this semester, to call him “the late Maurice Sendak.” He had always seemed eternal, though no person can be. His work, of course, is eternal. And that’s a consolation.

Also consoling, even joyous, is the imminent publication (next month) of Maurice Sendak: A Celebration of the Artist and his Work (edited by Leonard Marcus). Earlier this year brought us Sendak’s last completed work, My Brother’s Book, a tribute to William Blake and Sendak’s brother Jack. I expect that, at some point, we may see the publication of his truly last (and not-quite-finished) work, No-Nose, which Catherine Keener read at his memorial service last July.  (Sendak finished the text, but not all of the art.) Until then, we have his rich and powerful body of work to read and re-read, taking us to the land of the wild things and back again. And again.

2 Comments

  1. Mary Galbraith

    Reply

    “Tell Them Anything You Want,” the HBO documentary on Maurice Sendak by Spike Jonze, has recently appeared on Youtube –it may not stay long, and in any case it’s better to buy it. I show this documentary to my students every semester as an introduction to picture book artists, and every semester I get thank yous for showing it.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYpCP_9Hn2k

  2. Reply

    Thanks for the suggestion, Mary. I’ve been meaning to pick up a copy of this for some time. After seeing your post earlier today, I finally ordered one.

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